


Just Another Wednesday (Rescue)

by nazgularepeopletoo



Category: His Dark Materials (TV), His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dad Lee Scoresby, Enemies to Lovers, Enemies to lovers speed run, Fist Fights, Fluff, M/M, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:41:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28166415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nazgularepeopletoo/pseuds/nazgularepeopletoo
Summary: Lee and the balloon make it onto the island, Iorek unfortunately does not become king, and Asriel is, fortunately, stopped.
Relationships: Lee Scoresby/Lord Asriel
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	Just Another Wednesday (Rescue)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you @No_Day_But_Today for beta reading ;A; and staying up till 1 am finishing this ;v;

The fact that they had gotten away from the cliff-ghasts in nearly one piece was a miracle if Lee had any say in the matter. The basket of the balloon was torn in a few places, but the integrity of it was intact, so not even Iorek had to worry about falling through. There was blood and gore spattered on one side from where he had shot the cliff-ghast in the face. He would have to clean that later. They were still too low, though. They would be spotted, even through all this fog. The witches had told them that Lord Asriel wasn’t being kept in the palace, which was a good sign. The fact that he was being kept on the other side of the island was a second miracle, and a bit of Lee’s brain kept nagging that this was too easy. That something was wrong. 

The girl, Lyra, seemed to feel the same, hunched over in the corner in a bundle of furs, staring at her strange compass. She was murmuring something about Iofur and rightful kings, but they really didn’t have time for that right now, not if they wanted to beat Mrs. Coulter to Lyra’s father. 

Turning his attention to the balloon, Lee climbed up onto the side, leaning half over the railing. He squinted, judging just which sandbag to cut so they wouldn’t go up  _ too _ far, but still far enough to clear the cliffs and not be seen. He could hear the girl talking, hopefully to Iorek, because he wasn’t paying attention to her. Flipping open his knife, he sawed at a rope, clinging to the edge of the basket with his other hand. Within moments the rope severed, dropping the sandbag into the fog below and, with a lurch that nearly sent him over the edge after it, the balloon rose. 

The ride was silent after that, the children snuggled up against the side of the giant bear. Lee kept an eye on the ground below, pausing every so often to glance back at the small group. Lyra was still looking at her compass, but she wasn’t saying anything, just reading it. That was almost more unnerving than her vocally asking it questions. He shuddered, turning back to the horizon just in time to see a large house crop up out of the fog. He started in surprise, then frowned. How had Asriel managed to get this much… stuff up here? They were effectively in the middle of nowhere, and yet it was, indeed, a full house. With glass windows and a terrace and everything. That _ was _ glass, wasn’t it?

Lyra got up unsteadily as he reached up to start letting air out of the balloon, eyeing the rocky ground for a good place to land. Iorek raised his head as well, turning to look out the other side, making sure they hadn’t been seen. So far so good. Lee found a spot, tugging on ropes to angle the balloon towards it. 

“Hold on, she’s not gonna go down easy.” Luckily the girl listened to him, looping an arm around one of the support ropes and watching as he moved fluidly around the basket, releasing air as he went. Clouds hurried past, dampening their faces as the craggy rocks raced up to meet them. The clearing Lee had scouted was small, a low valley between snow covered peaks, but his aim was true, and before long they landed with a crash. 

The valley was silent for a moment as the envelope fluttered down around the basket. That spurred the small group into action, batting at the fabric until there was enough space to climb out onto the frozen ground. In seconds the children started to shiver, so Lee herded them onwards, knowing that movement would create at least a little bit of heat. 

Unfortunately, Lee had misjudged the distance between their crash site and the “prison”, so by the time they reached the fence around the courtyard, they were all covered in a thick blanket of snow. Iorek breathed on their heads in turn, leaving them damp, but warm - despite the smell that came along with it. It was then that Lyra spoke. 

“I should go first. He ‘ent expecting anyone, so he’ll be least likely to do anything to me. Roger, stay with Iorek, but keep an eye out.” The young boy nodded, huddling close to the massive bear’s leg. “Mr. Scoresby?” Lee trailed behind her as she stomped her way up to the front door, knocking hard. 

It took a moment before the door swung open, revealing the man they were looking for, the same as Lyra had described. Wild blue eyes stared at Lee with no sense of recognition, confusion flickering to anger, then to irritation as a lock of subtly greying hair fell over his face. With a flick of his head it was back in place, Lee’s eyes tracking the movement before sliding quickly back. If the other man had noticed, he didn’t show it. 

“Who the hell are you?” Asriel took a step back, looking as if he were about to let Stelmaria do the talking for him. 

“Father!” All movement stopped. Asriel’s eyes widened and flickered down, training on the girl in between them. Neither he nor his dæmon seemed to even breathe as they stared at Lyra, panic growing behind their eyes. 

“No.. no no it wasn’t meant to be you, how did they…? How did you…  **_No_ ** !” He stumbled back, nearly tripping on the threshold but catching himself just in time. “Get out  _ GET OUT _ !” 

“Wait…!” Lyra stepped forward, unwanted tears springing into her eyes. Sure she wasn’t meant to know that he was her father but this wasn’t the reaction she was expecting. Stelmaria hissed, flattening her ears against her head and moving to twine around Asriel’s legs, keeping the distance between them. Lee gently moved Lyra out of the way, anger prickling at the nape of his neck. This child had been through hell and back to save her father and  _ this _ is how he reacts?

“Now listen here,” he moved closer, “you have no idea what this kid has gone through to be here. She infiltrated and blew up a _scientific base_ _by herself_ , AND freed the kids no one else could get to. All because her friend back there,” Here he gestured behind him towards Roger and Iorek. “got taken.” 

The shift in Asriel’s demeanor was immediate. He straightened, eyes focused behind Lee’s head as if he could see outside. There was another child. It didn't have to be Lyra. Without bothering with a coat, Asriel pushed past the taller man, not even giving his daughter a second glance. That was it. Lee saw red. 

He stalked after Asriel, grabbing his shoulder, spinning him around, and punching him square in the face. Behind him he heard Lyra cry out, but he didn’t care, lunging forward to catch the other man’s sweater, pulling him back up only to punch him again. This time he let the man fall, shaking his hand out and bracing himself. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hester kick Stelmaria with her powerful hindlegs, both leopard and lord wincing at the blow. 

Asriel scrambled to his feet, one hand going to his bleeding mouth. Whoever this man was, he wasn’t important enough to hold back for. Asriel launched himself forward, tackling Lee into the snow with enough force to knock his breath out, hurling blows at his face and chest and not caring if he missed or not. Lee gasped, lifting his arms to protect himself, and at the same time, lifted his legs to wrap around Asriel’s chest. He managed to push the smaller man off this way, backing up in the snow until there was a small distance between them. 

Before either of them could make another move, one of Iorek’s massive paws swiped Asriel up off the ground, six inch claws dangerously close to puncturing his skin. The man grunted, kicking his legs as best he could, trying to land a hit on the bear. Iorek growled a warning, twisting his paw so Asriel wouldn’t be able to see Lee approaching. The Texan whipped out his pistol, ramming the butt of it onto Asriel’s head hard, knocking him unconscious and ending the struggle.

Lyra was crying freely now, finally shocked into motion by the sight of her father going limp in Iorek’s paw. She screamed, running towards them but stopping at Lee’s side. His indifference and fright towards her and her grudging love for him were warring with themselves, and that, along with the cold and the journey, exhausted her. Lee slowly pulled her in, tucking her head into his side as he reached for Roger, who had run forward at Lyra’s scream. He held the children close and nodded at Iorek, who started back towards the balloon. 

The house was warm and they needed supplies, so Lee steered the children inside, closing the door and depositing them in front of the fire. Lyra latched onto Roger, crying into his shoulder, and even though he didn’t know what was going on, he patted her hair, rocking them gently. The aeronaut scoured the kitchen from top to bottom, packing a rucksack with dried meats and fresh water. He hesitated, then sought out the closet with a sigh, pulling out Asriel’s furs and tucking them under his arm. 

By the time he was done, Lyra was calmed, Pantalaimon wrapped around her neck as a pine marten. Each child took one of Lee’s hands and together they headed back into the snowy night. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iorek had drug the balloon to the nearest fire mine vent, waiting for the rest to join him before they filled it and lifted off. Lyra and Roger fell asleep almost instantly, leaving Lee to tie up Asriel and his dæmon, and pile them all in furs. Somehow the adrenaline from the fight hadn’t worn him out, if anything, he was more awake than he had been before they’d landed. Pulling up his chair, he settled in by the navigation, waving Iorek’s questioning look away. The bear shrugged, settling in the corner around the two children and closing his eyes. 

He’d just started to doze off when the chair beneath him jerked. He jumped up, hand flying to the butt of his pistol, then swore quietly when a sharp pain shot through his shin. Evidently, Asriel was awake. Lee stared down at the man, trying not to laugh at the sight of him brought so low. His anger was palpable, but Lee let him stew for a moment longer, just watching, before squatting to address him. 

“You caused a lot of trouble back there, for both me  _ and _ the kid, but.” he held up a finger to stop any muffled complaints. “I bet you know your way around an airship.” Asriel fell silent, glowering, but the intensity was dampened by the gag and the slight shiver running through him. “Ahhh there it is. You  _ do _ .” Lee stood back up, circling the prone figure. “Now, if I untie you, will you do something stupid?” The only things he could have done was try to fight again, or throw himself over the side. Lee knew he had too much self preservation for either of those options, but he waited for Asriel to shake his head negative anyway. “Good.”

He took his time untying Asriel, much to the laters annoyance, but he didn’t try to kick once his legs were free. Soon he was loose, rubbing his wrists for show before climbing unsteadily to his feet. Lee tutted, grabbing his arm to keep him upright before he could pull away.

“You have a head injury, be careful.” Lee grinned at him, even though they both knew who was responsible for said injury. “Just do what I tell you, yeah?” He led the still silent Asriel to the bank of instruments, making sure he was okay to stand by himself before finally letting go and moving away. 

He relayed instructions, keeping one eye out to make sure he wasn’t being sabotaged. Asriel was actually fairly adept at flying, something that Lee was mildly surprised at. He’d just guessed before, what with all of the fancy equipment he’d seen back at the house, but seeing him actually flying… He shook his head, clearing it just in time to notice Asriel about to turn the wrong lever. 

With a muffled curse he leaped across the basket, covering the shorter man’s hands with his own and pulling them back. “Not that one,” he said quietly, breath moving the fine hairs by Asriel’s ear. Asriel shuddered, muttering a quiet apology, the first thing he’d said since waking up. Lee didn’t notice, moving the man’s hands to the right levers and wheels, manipulating both like a fine tuned instrument. 

Suddenly, Iorek snuffed, shifting his weight and snapping the two men back into the present. Lee blushed, taking a quick step back, leaving Asriel shivering and clinging to the controls as if in shock. The aeronaut glanced at the bear, but he seemed to still be sleeping. There was no way the children would have seen, so he relaxed, wiping his somehow sweaty hands on his furs. 

“That should be good for now. Get some rest, I’m going to.” Lee slumped down near the bear, trying at once to conserve heat while not overbalancing the balloon. Asriel finally peeled himself off the panel, sliding to the bottom of the basket without moving from his spot, keeping distance from both Lee and the bear. That was fair, he couldn’t blame him for being wary. 

“Good night… Mr…?” Asriel’s voice was quiet over the wind, but Lee heard it anyway.

“Scoresby. Lee Scoresby.” He half nodded in a mock bow, settling into the blankets he’d set aside for himself.    


“Mr. Scoresby.... And thank you. For looking after Lyra.” With that Asriel curled up on the floor, using his arm as a pillow, not bothering to try and keep warm. Lee rolled his eyes, turning away and trying to get comfortable. It didn’t work though, he couldn’t help but feel responsible for  _ everyone _ in his balloon. 

After another ten minutes, he sighed, pushing himself back up to his feet. Asriel was obviously asleep, exposed face red from cold and body curled in on itself as much as it could. Lee made his way over, gently pulling him away from the side wall just enough for him to slip behind him and cover both of them with the thickest blanket he could get his hands on. He tucked Asriel’s head under the blanket as well, making sure no part of him was touched by the wind, then pulled him close, and fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Asriel awoke with a start in the dark, warmth enveloping him mostly from behind. He panicked, forgetting almost everything that had happened the night before before realising where he was. The sound of the wind was the trigger, releasing the flood of memories his battered head had tried to hold back. What had happened last… he’d fallen asleep. He’d fallen asleep alone. 

Without moving too much, so as not to disturb anyone or alert anyone to his state of wakefulness, he slid a hand down his side, stopping when it hit someone else’s arm, wrapped around his waist. He froze, mind going blank again. The aeronaut (Lee?) was behind him, holding him and still asleep. While he couldn’t deny the warmth felt good, something felt off. His chest ached, probably from the cold air he’d been inhaling, and he felt almost nervous. There was nothing to be nervous about though, except for the arm still casually thrown over his waist. 

He swallowed, a lump stubbornly sticking in his throat as he realised the longer he lay there, the less he wanted to move. The less he wanted Lee to move. The less he wanted anything about this to change. It wouldn’t last, he knew that. Nothing in his life lasted very long, not even his grand life altering plans, apparently. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy it just for a while, just for now. 

**Author's Note:**

> "I'm going to have to knock this man out so he doesn't try to fist fight a fuckin polar bear."


End file.
